6 comments:

I missed the first 4 minutes of Wednesday's show. When I got to 360 a report was in progress about Mitt Romney's blasting attack on Trump and Trump's response. Anderson talked a bit with Dana Bash before starting up the panel. Like yesterday it was 8 pundits but thankfully, no Jeffrey Lord this time. In the first segment only Stuart Stevens, John King, Gloria Borger, Ana-Malika Henderson and David Challian got to speak. The discussion was on Romney, Trump, impact of Romney's remarks, the possibility of the GOP head honchos kicking Trump out and how the GOP convention might turn out.

The second segment had another clip from Romney's speech and a Sara Murray report on how the other GOP candidates (especially Rubio and Cruz) are finally finding their balls and attacking Trump. The panel resumed and this time Kayleigh McEnemy, Amanda Carpenter and Van Jones got to talk. Although it was all Trump (derailing him, his supporters, his lawsuits) it was a better more critical look at Trump than I had hoped for.

Marco Rubio got his own segment but I bet his campaign wishes they put someone else on 360 besides Mattie Conant. She's a member of the Rubio campaign and, like Rubio, got stuck giving robotic replies instead of truly answering the question. Anderson asked her several times 'if Rubio doesn't win the Florida primary will he drop out?' and each time Conant said 'Rubio will win yada yada yada'. Never once did she entertain the hypothetical possibility that Rubio might not win. After Anderson asked the fourth time and she still didn't answer, you could see on Anderson's face how fed up he was with her. Maybe that's being loyal to your candidate and maybe that's not just wearing rose-colored glasses but also blinders.

Because I usually switch to Hayes during 360 commercials to see what he's up to, I missed the start of Randi Kaye's report from a Florida diner on what ordinary folks think about the Trump attack ads. As expected there were a few who won't be budged from their glorification of Trump. Then the panel of 8 was back. Somewhere in the discussion Anderson said '...If I was a Trump supporter, not saying that I am but if I was a Trump supporter I'd be upset all these guys were piling on...' That bothered me. First to think Anderson just might admit to being a Trump supporter. Second to think this 'piling on', all these attack ads, isn't the norm for political campaigns or that Trump should get a special exception from this norm.

The last segment of the first hour had the panel again. They discussed what might happen in the upcoming GOP debate (on FOX) and focused especially on Rubio attacking Trump. I mostly watched Hayes cover the story of 30 African-American students removed from a Trump rally on Monday in Georgia at the Trump campaign's request. Funny I don't remember Anderson covering this story, maybe it was Monday when I didn't watch.

Overall, I really appreciated the absence of Jeffrey Lord but still would have changed some of the show's content.

Anderson was getting in some digs at Trump for a change during the post-debate 360 panel--he doesn't do that often but Trump is such a humongous fraud, even AC has to acknowledge it. Gloria Borger didn't mince words about how horrific the debate was and how bad it was for the Republican party. I was glad Jeff Lord was missing from the panel. Van Jones made some excellent points and brought up the question I wish more reporters would ask regarding Trump and white supremicists--why do they overwhelmingly support him and think he's their guy? Disavowing hate groups is fine (although Trump doesn't sound sincere about it) but there's a reason Trump attracts the KKK and other hate groups. Jeff Lord may not have been around, but that blonde Trump spokesperson was doing the same deflect act that he usually does when she tried to say that President Obama was no better than Trump because he didn't fully disavow Louis Farrakhan--but I don't recall the president using nasty racist rhetoric against Muslims, Latinos and other ethnicities when he was campaigning and he didn't have goons roughing up any peaceful protestors at his rallies--I don't think he even had any protestors. He wasn't divisive.

If all of the candidates (and Romney) will be supporting Trump if he gets the nomination, their criticism of him is pointless.

@Jaanza, no Jeff Lord on the post debate program but the blonde woman that sat in his place annoyed me far more than Lord. I guess I expect women to be smarter than that and expect stupidity from men? ;)

I'm so sick of these debates and the 24 cycle of politics and pundits. I can't take cable news anymore the spin and countless gossip is just stupid and childish just like these debates. What I saw last night was three adults behaving like spoiled brats and one adult John Kasich. Romneyhood needs to go back under his rock. His 47 percent comment should have had him disappear from t.v. altogether. Romney is jealous and wants to sweep in and be nominee. I knew he wasn't done. The gop is making it very easy for independent voters like myself to vote for third party or Hilary assuming she is nominee. I don't trust this woman but GOP, these candidates are just not qualified but Kasich. Kasich is being ignored because he doesn't scream the loudest and is practical, unlike rest of field. I find it astonishing that the gop establishment is trying to wreck its own front runner. The whole gop don't care about democracy or will of people. I'm no Trump supporter but I've never seen a whole party basically attack a front runner. What are they afraid of their own status quo destroyed or they know Trump will lose in landslide in November? Gop created Trump, deal with it and his voters. AC just seems to go through motions on the show these days. He's not really engage. They should put him were he's best out in field!

IT IS A SHAME THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS NOW RECOGNIZING THE DANGER OF A TRUMP PRESIDENCY.NOT ONLY WILL IT RUIN THE COUNTRY, BUT IT WILL RUIN THEIR PARTY. UNFORTUNATELY WE'LL HAVE TO SUFFERTHE CONSEQUENCES AND THEY BOTH COULD BE DEVASTATING.THERE ARE LITITMATE MILITARY GENERALS SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE TOTAL COLLAPSE OF OUR MILITARY SHOULD TRUMPASCEND TO THE PRESIDENCY. ONE TOLD THE NY TIMES THAT THE THOUGHT WOULD BE "UTTERLY CHAOTIC."IN ALL FAIRNESS, THERE ARE SOME REASONABLE REPUBLICANS, NOT MITT ROMNEY, WHO DO FEEL THAT TRUMPIS A THREAT BECAUSE OF HIS LACK OF DIPLOMACY ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS. THE MEDIA IS AT FAULT FOR NOT BRINGING THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF THE VOTING PUBLIC. TRUMP WAS NEVER VETTED PROPERLY, BECAUSE OF HIS WEALTH AND STATUS. MITT ROMNEY IS JUST MAKING EVERYTHING WORSE. HE IS NOT A CREDIBLE FIGURE AND HE IS THE FACE OF THE REPUBLICAN ESTABLISHMENT. WHY WOULD ANYBODY, BELIEVE HIM ABOUT TRUMP INADEQUACIES?THE GOP NEVER TOOK TRUMP SERIOUSLY, AND PLAYED MINDLESS GAMES, AND WERE IN TOTAL DENIAL UNTIL TRUMPS FOLLOWING WOKE THEM UP....AND NOW THEY HAVE A PROBLEM.THE HORSE IS GALLOPING AWAY AND THE BARN DOORS ARE CLOSED. LET THE HORSE GO. WITH A LITTLE LUCK HE MAY STUMBLE AND FALL. (WE CAN ONLY HOPE.)